Bloody hell! Another Aussie!
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 4:48 pm
Home base is Perth (West Coast) but currently living in Vermont US while wifey does a stint at the local University. I have taken advantage of the market over here and have being buying up heaps of parts to build up a TR500 replica when I return to Perth next year. Currently assembling them all for crating up and shipping back home. I pretty well have everything I need, including a spare motor. Might start a thread on the rebuild in the appropriate section?
Anyway, a story from back in 1971 when I was a mere lad of 20 with very little money but an ambition to put my T250 Hustler on the race track. I obviously wanted to make it go faster (should have actually worked on my riding ability!!) so I wrote to the Suzuki factory in Japan asking for advice. Well, a few months went by (everything was sea mail back then I think), when a fairly thick package arrived in my mail box. Inside was the complete detailed specifications of their Daytona 250, from porting details to expansion chamber measurements, even down to jetting! Unfortunately I couldn't afford a lot of the mods but can you imagine it happening today! Wish I still had those papers.
I have had several Suzukis over the years, after the T250 came a T350, then later a GS550 and in more recent times a TLS1000 as well as several Kawasakis, Hondas and Yamahas but my first love will always be the 2 stroke Suzi, hence my current project. And yes, after all these years I am still racing, currently a Supersport spec R6 but that will be retired to just track days once the TR500 is a going concern. The young guys are a bit too desperate for me now - we don't bounce like we used to! However I try to put something back into the sport I have loved for so long as a coach with a local track day company. Already some of my ex pupils have gone on to do very well in State and National competitions, which is very gratifying.
Anyway, a great forum you have here, I have got lots of useful information already.
By the way, fellow Aussies, if you haven't been to the US, do yourself a favor (as Molly says) and get yourselves over here. This country is awesome and the people really nice. Don't be put off by the stereotypes we see on Aussie TV, in general we have found most Americans to be very polite, generous, respectful and welcoming. We have so far been through 24 States and driven over 18,000 miles and just loved every minute of it!
Anyway, a story from back in 1971 when I was a mere lad of 20 with very little money but an ambition to put my T250 Hustler on the race track. I obviously wanted to make it go faster (should have actually worked on my riding ability!!) so I wrote to the Suzuki factory in Japan asking for advice. Well, a few months went by (everything was sea mail back then I think), when a fairly thick package arrived in my mail box. Inside was the complete detailed specifications of their Daytona 250, from porting details to expansion chamber measurements, even down to jetting! Unfortunately I couldn't afford a lot of the mods but can you imagine it happening today! Wish I still had those papers.
I have had several Suzukis over the years, after the T250 came a T350, then later a GS550 and in more recent times a TLS1000 as well as several Kawasakis, Hondas and Yamahas but my first love will always be the 2 stroke Suzi, hence my current project. And yes, after all these years I am still racing, currently a Supersport spec R6 but that will be retired to just track days once the TR500 is a going concern. The young guys are a bit too desperate for me now - we don't bounce like we used to! However I try to put something back into the sport I have loved for so long as a coach with a local track day company. Already some of my ex pupils have gone on to do very well in State and National competitions, which is very gratifying.
Anyway, a great forum you have here, I have got lots of useful information already.
By the way, fellow Aussies, if you haven't been to the US, do yourself a favor (as Molly says) and get yourselves over here. This country is awesome and the people really nice. Don't be put off by the stereotypes we see on Aussie TV, in general we have found most Americans to be very polite, generous, respectful and welcoming. We have so far been through 24 States and driven over 18,000 miles and just loved every minute of it!